What is the Islamic definition of hypocrisy?

Question

Assalamualaykum respected Mufti Saheb.

I had a question regarding hypocrisy: When a person tells another to do something and doesn’t do it himself in literal terms this is hypocrisy (correct me if I am wrong) but is this the very same hypocrisy that is mentioned in the ahadith?

Answer

Wa Alaykum Al-Salam

The Scholars have defined the word Munafiq as, “He who utters Islam from his tongue and does not believe it to be correct in his heart”. This is from the four types of infidelity (Kufr). This is the meaning of the word Munafiq for whom Allah mentions that they will be in the lowest part of the hell fire.

In Ibn Maajah it says that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said,

“He who finds the Azan in the Masjid, then leaves and does not leave for a purpose and does not intend to return then he is a Munafiq”.

In several other narrations the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has mentioned many signs of a Munafiq. However, the Scholars agree that the word Munafiq in these Ahadeeth does not mean he is a non-believer but it means he carries out acts which are similar to a Munafiq who is a non-believer. He has attributes of a actual Munafiq. This has been mentioned in Ashi’ah Al-Lam’aat by Sheikh Abd Al-Haq Al-Muhaddith.

In Fatawa Fayd Al-Rasool, Mufti Jalal Al-Deen Amjadi writes that there are two types of Nifaq (hypocrisy). They are hypocrisy in belief and hypocrisy in action. A hypocrite in action is the literal meaning of “hypocrite” understood in our custom and surely Allah knows best.

Zahid Husain Al-Qadri
(Beggar at the doorstep of Scholars)